Harnett County, NC HOA Rules: Board Governance (2026)

138 governs HOA formation and governance for developments the county approves in the unincorporated area. Subsection (A) requires a copy of the recorded organizational papers and by-laws to be submitted at the final plat review stage for review and approval by the Development Review Board, and those documents apply to the entire development, not just a phase. Subsection (B) requires the HOA to be established before any homes or units are sold, and subsection (C) makes membership mandatory for every buyer and any successive buyer, so an owner cannot opt out of the association.

Subsection (D) puts the developer, or any subsequent developer, in charge of managing the association and its maintenance duties until 60% of all units to be sold have sold. Subsection (E) requires the HOA to be run on a nonprofit basis, though it expressly permits paying the developer a fair market management fee. Subsection (F) sets the outer limits on developer control: the developer may keep control until 98% of the total planned dwelling units are conveyed to residents, or for 10 years from the date the first plat is recorded plus one additional year for every 50 units planned beyond the first 100, or for 50 years from the date the first plat is recorded, whichever comes first. That layered test means a large, slow-building subdivision cannot keep developer control indefinitely once one of the three triggers is reached.